Cold air brushed against my face from a hole in the ground the size of my fist. I remember mopping the sweat off my face and suddenly coolness. I dug that hole with my hands. My back sunburned as I cleared an opening large enough to enter. I’ve found caves since I was six but this felt special.

In the dusty beams of sunlight I saw the moon white stalagmites. I jumped in. Musty crystal clad interiors greeted me in patches of turquoise and aquamarine. Rainbows of stalactites formed a natural cathedral. Entranced I’m not ashamed to say I bawled like a little baby.

Next morning I woke up holding on to dreams of crawls. I brought my dad and my brothers to my discovery. They saw cash instantly. Dad rode over to the county to buy the deed; Jim and Andy Lee got to work on the newspapers. I just thought of my discovery, Great Crystal Cave.

There were a ton of caves in our region. Not enough people wanted to see my cave. Tourists are lazy beggars. They wanted to be close to the hot dog stands. I needed something special to draw in the rubes.

That was my mistake, my eagerness. I was so close I swear, so close to finding a new entrance to Mammoth. Then I kicked my lantern. Then I lost my footing. They tried so hard long after that last cave in. I remember my cathedral of bright crystal as the stones tumbled down blocking out the light and the air.

I never thought of it as haunting. This is my home. There aren’t many caves as we thought when I was alive. There is just one connecting cave with many entrances. My home will be the same, gloriously the same as it was 100 years ago. It will stretch for another 1000 years. I wonder if my stone will last as long my home. I wonder if people still linger over the postcards of the man in the cave. No matter, I roam the tunnels amazed by each new discovery.